Plans and emotions for the year

• According to the results of the final annual online survey conducted by the Rating Sociological Group, one-third of Ukrainians were able to realise all or most of their plans in 2021. Another half managed to partially realise their plans, and only 13% said that they had not achieved anything.
  Ukrainians assessed this year's success in the same way: for one in three, the year was successful, for half, it was average, and only for one in ten, it was not successful at all.
• Almost 40% of Ukrainians say they are satisfied with their lives, another 30% are somewhat satisfied, about 20% are not very satisfied, and 11% are completely dissatisfied. Younger respondents and men were slightly more likely to say they were satisfied with their lives. Also, the higher the respondents rated their income, the more successful they considered their year to be.  
• At the same time, more than 40% of respondents often felt stressed this year. Another 29% were sometimes stressed, 22% were rarely or very rarely stressed, and only 7% were never stressed. People with lower incomes and women reported feeling stress more often.
• Interestingly, in 2021, Ukrainians felt love for others significantly more often than love for themselves. They also felt joy, sadness, and anger relatively often. Even less often, they felt surprise, and least often, fear.  
• In general, the more often people felt emotions of joy and love, the more successful they rated their year, the more satisfied they were with their lives, and the less stress they experienced.
• As it turned out, women are noticeably more emotional, and therefore they felt all emotions more often than men. Young people are also more emotional.
• Emotions of joy and self-love correlate most strongly with overall life satisfaction. Fear, sadness, and anger, on the other hand, correlate with stress and low ratings of the year's success.

Leisure activities

• The most popular leisure activities this year were watching films and TV series, as well as cooking favourite dishes. Reading or listening to books and visiting guests were also popular leisure activities.
• About 40% consumed alcohol relatively often (20% did not). A third engaged in physical training and fitness (the same number did not), while only 4% practised yoga, which was the least popular hobby among those surveyed. At the same time, a quarter often watched sports matches or competitions, and about 5% placed bets on sports.  
• About 40% of respondents played various games this year, most often on their phones, and slightly less often on computers and board games. Less than 5% played bowling or billiards.
• A third of respondents relatively often went shopping or went on nature trips and picnics. About 30% of respondents this year often or sometimes went to cafes, took up photography, or had cosmetic procedures. A quarter engaged in handicrafts and spiritual practices. A third visited church relatively often. One in ten was interested in personal development training.
• Despite the quarantine, Ukrainians went to restaurants relatively often this year – about 20%.
• Over the course of the year, one in ten went on tourist trips, travelled around Ukraine or went abroad.  
• This year, 12-15% went mushroom picking or berry picking, 11% went fishing, and 2% went hunting.  
• About 20% engaged in painting, 12% went dancing, singing, or played instruments.
• Ukrainians attended concerts, festivals, cinemas, and nightclubs much less frequently—less than 10%. About 5% visited theatres, museums, or exhibitions.  
• The higher the respondents' income, the more diverse their leisure activities and frequency. Young people are more likely to play games, engage in sports, and go to cafes and restaurants. At the same time, older people are more likely to read and go to church.
• In general, women were more active than men this year in cooking, cosmetic procedures, photography, handicrafts and creativity in general, as well as shopping. Women also watched films and TV series, engaged in music and spiritual practices, read books, and went to church relatively more often. At the same time, men watched sports matches and competitions, played computer games, went fishing, went hiking, bet on sports, and consumed alcohol more often.  
• Almost 60% of respondents harvested vegetables and fruits or made preserves this year. Even among the youngest, about half did so. And among those who live in private homes, the vast majority (about 80%) did so.

The survey results show that active leisure and hobbies throughout the year increase positive emotions and feelings of success. This is especially true for entertainment that was less accessible last year due to the pandemic: concerts, discos, and travel abroad.

• Hobbies such as photography, beauty treatments, dancing and music, going to the cinema have the most positive effect on self-love, while concerts and travelling around Ukraine have the most positive effect on love for others.  At the same time, games (computer or mobile), alcohol, watching TV series or sporting events correlate least with feelings of love for oneself and others.
• Interestingly, leisure activities outside the home have a greater impact on life satisfaction and happiness than similar activities at home: for example, going to the cinema brings more joy than simply watching films and TV series; restaurants, cafés and barbecues bring more joy than cooking; playing sports brings more joy than watching matches.  
• Creative hobbies at home, such as painting, handicrafts, and reading, bring more positive emotions than computer/mobile games, films, and TV series, which generally bring the least pleasure, sense of success, or love.
• Of all activities, attending church brought the least joy to respondents this year, and noticeably less than those who simply engaged in spiritual practices.
• Alcohol has a rather negative impact on positive emotions: those who consumed alcohol frequently experienced more anger and fear this year and less love for others. On the other hand, the more often people visited others this year, the more positive emotions they experienced.  
• Interestingly, while harvesting (mushrooms, fruit, potatoes) has a positive effect on success and satisfaction, the tradition of making preserves has the opposite effect: people who did this this year are significantly less satisfied with their lives. And while young people are actively involved in harvesting, it is mainly older people who make preserves.
• In general, those who were involved in any activities have a higher sense of success and positivity in 2021. Therefore, fishing, mushroom picking, spiritual practices, development training, shopping, books and hiking also brought mostly positive emotions to people this year.